1989 Chateau Malescot Saint Exupery Margaux

I am no fan of decanting wines, especially older, delicate ones and I see this mandatory in seldom cases. However, this wine had to be given more air in order to completely open up. The cork is very long and there is really no problem for similar bottles to resist a generous amount of years further. So unless you are troubled about the fill level, the cork can safely preserve the content.

1989 Chateau Malescot Saint Exupery – Margaux

Deep dark red garnet color, extremely youthful for its age. The nose is initially shy and gives very little, the only thing dominating is a strong pickled cabbage like aroma, but after about 1 h in a decanter kept outside, in winter cold, the nose changes considerably, still maintaining a whiff of cabbage, but opening up and exhibiting typical Margaux aromatics. The wine seems that has lost all its primary fruity aromas initially, but with aeration, subtle red fruit emerges: red currant and sour red cherry, mixed with a lot of smoke, graphite, earth and tobacco, building a charming nose. The wine still posses a firm and healthy tannins structure, that suggests further aging potential, however, the complexity is medium and the wine seems to be somehow closed on the palate. The finish is medium plus long, with good freshness and flavors of graphite and cigar ash in the aftertaste. (89/100)